Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray on 11th American Women’s Quarter
DURHAM, N.C.– The Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice eagerly awaits the U.S. Mint’s Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray quarter. To be released in 2024, the 11th quarter in the American Women's Quarter Program will celebrate Rev. Dr. Murray’s life as an activist, writer, lawyer, and Episcopal priest. Rev. Dr. Murray will join other recipients like writer Maya Angelou, astronaut Dr. Sally Ride and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. While the face of the quarter will continue to depict George Washington’s likeness, the reverse (tail) depicts Rev. Dr. Murray’s eyeglass-framed face within the shape of the word “HOPE”. The word “HOPE” honors Rev. Dr. Murray’s belief that significant societal reforms were possible when rooted in hope. A line from her poem “Dark Testament,” characterizes hope as “A SONG IN A WEARY THROAT,” an inscription in the design.
This significant recognition of Rev. Dr. Murray’s life and legacy has been championed by advocates and activists around the world, including her niece, and Pauli Murray Center board member, Rosita Stevens-Holsey. “The Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray's quarter design is certainly one of the most unique of all of those in the American Women Quarters Program,” she said. “When I see my aunt's face looking out through the letters of the word "hope", it brings to mind that she never lost hope in a society and world that needed to change to embrace the rights of all humans. Her selection as one of the honorees is validation and a testament to more than 50 years of achievements in social justice, women's rights, civil rights, and human rights.”
As we approach the 2024 quarter release, the Center is excited to celebrate this milestone in company with our supporters and friends in North Carolina. May Rev. Dr. Murray’s work and life keep modeling progress, justice, and community.
About the Pauli Murray Center
The Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice engages diverse communities to lift up the life and legacy of activist, legal scholar, feminist, poet, Episcopal priest, and LGBTQ+ community member, the Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray, in order to address enduring inequities and injustice in our nation. The Pauli Murray Center is a National Historic Landmark site anchored by Pauli Murray’s childhood home in Durham, North Carolina. The home stands on its original site, a one-acre plot, in the historically Black working-class West End neighborhood. PMC is quickly becoming a fully operational, visitor-ready site. Over the next few years, we will completely rehabilitate and create an accessible historic home and education center; build on our robust calendar of workshops, both on the ground and virtually; host community dialogues and invitations to action; and lead creative arts programming.